My very first relocation journey started at the young age of 18 months, when we relocated from Germany to Nigeria. At age 15 I returned to Germany to attend college. Fourteen years later, I followed my heart and relocated to the US. On this journey I have experienced and learned some things professionally and personally that I would like to share with you.

1. There will be some tears and frustration: when I moved to the US in 2015 I faced challenges I didn't expect such as opening a bank account, sorting out health insurance etc. Coming from a country like Germany where the Initial set up was easy, I was extremely frustrated. Have a plan and do your research before you move!
2. You will question if you made the right decision: I feel like for a long time there was a thought in my mind that I made the wrong decision to leave Germany and move to the US. The times will typically come when you face difficult times. This too will pass!
3. You need to build credit: Unlike Germany where cash payments are the norm, here you are encouraged to make payments with your credit card even if you have the money. Building credit is important here. Learn about the different financial requirements!
4. ‎There are big cultural differences: This is one that I thought I had experience in as I had lived in Nigeria and Germany. I learned to navigate the new culture by being open-minded, talking to people and accepting that things are different here. Be open to a different culture!
5. ‎The work culture is different: The way people work is very different. As a project manager, I needed to learn the art of flexible planning. Clients and team members expect flexible timelines. Learn and adapt to your new work culture!
6. ‎You will be lonely: Building a social circle in a new country is not a trivial task and takes a while. It will take more effort to find new friends and professional alliances. Get out there, meet new people in unconventional places like classes, events, etc. Build a local professional and social network!
7. ‎You’ll miss food you like: It takes a while to find food you enjoy: this might sound trivial. Good food played an important role in my journey. PS: I'm still on the search for great bread even after three years in the US. Look for small culinary pleasures!
8. ‎You are now officially very far away from the rest of the world: Living on the west coast of the US, I quickly realized that I was very far from Europe and Africa where my family lives. I had to navigate nine hours’ time difference and at least 11 hours flight to see my family. Technology is your friend!
9. ‎You need a support system of people who have relocated: there will be so many questions that you will have. My partner and other friends helped me navigate complexities as they had faced similar challenges. I say similar as everyone's situation is different. We should learn from one another!
10. ‎It might take a while to feel at home in your new country: I moved to the US with the expectation that after a year I’ll feel at home. It has taken me almost three years to settle in. Give yourself time!
    

Relocating to the US has been one of the greatest learning experiences in my life and strangely I'm open to relocating to a new country. Although, my relocation journey was not as smooth as I thought, I have grown a lot and experienced great things in the past three years.
Have you just relocated or live in a new country? Share two things you wish you knew before your relocated to your current home country in the comments section below. I’m excited to start a platform for women who are on the relocation journey to share experiences and tips to help women who are planning or have just relocated to a new country.

Final thoughts:

• You can be successful and thrive in a new country.
• There are challenges that come from relocating to a new country.
• A plan will make relocation much easier.
• Be patient and share your experiences with others.
  

OK, I know that finances are not something you talk about often and with any joy. However, finances are too important to not be discussed or ignored. I encourage you to start talking about your finances and start being in charge.
 
In this post, I will focus on key aspects that help you take charge of your finances: changing your relationship with money, having clarity on your financial status and managing your finances with the help of a budget.
 
I'm speaking from my own experience and hope to support your journey to financial success. As a university student struggling to make ends meet, I decided to take charge and manage my finances to ensure I was fully aware of my financial status. It wasn't an easy journey, but it was totally worth it.
 
What is your relationship with money?
Many women I speak to have an interesting relationship with money – and by “interesting relationship” I really mean no relationship. I typically hear the following when finances are a topic of discussion "I don't talk about money," "my husband oversees the money," " I don't know my financial status", "I don't have enough money to budget", etc. The overall attitude towards finances is typically passive and fearful. We need to change our attitude towards money – be positive and active. In the steps outlined below, we are working under the strong assumption that you are living within your means.
 
How can you  take charge of your finances?
Step 1: Change your perspective on financial matters.
You need to see your finances as an area in your life that you control and not one that controls you. Changing your perspective is a journey, it takes continuous effort and time. I am living proof that it is attainable. I see finances as something I am comfortable with.  I believe that finances are good and I’m in control
 
Step 2: Take stock of your financial status
Firstly, for this exercise to be beneficial, be fully honest with yourself. List out all your expenditures in a month and your monthly income from all sources. Caution: the result of this exercise might be scary. At the end of this exercise, there should be no unknowns where your finances are concerned. The first time I did this exercise, I saw where I was lacking financially and gained insight on where my money was going each month
 
Step 3: Create a budget
I often ask my friends and family if they have monthly budgets. Their responses are very shocking – about 95% of them didn't have budgets. If you don't have a budget, create one now. It is very simple. Create a tabular version of your income and expenditures you discovered in Step 2. See the simple examples in the Tools section below.
Bonus tip: Add savings as a line item in your budget. This is the foundation for growing your savings – the key to building financial freedom.
 
Step 4: Review your financial status regularly
On a regular basis you want to ask yourself: How am I doing financially? I encourage you to review your budget at least once every month. I review my finances twice monthly following my salary schedule.  In your monthly review, you should do the following: add any surprise costs you didn't budget for, add missing reoccurring expenditures, add additional income and celebrate your progress
 
In a series of blog posts titled “Her Finances”, I will be sharing personal finance tips and experiences geared toward women, a subject I am passionate about. In the next post of the "Her Finances" blog series, we will discuss the power of saving and how to start saving money.
 
Final thoughts:
• Adopt a healthy attitude towards money: Use it mindfully and think about the long-term
• ‎Actively manage your finances: You need to be in control
• Guard your finances vigilantly against external forces: Don’t let other’s control your finances
• ‎Take stock at the end of every month: Know your financial status monthly
• ‎Adapt to life-changing situations: There will be changes that affect your finance. Adapt your plans accordingly

Tools: Monthly and Yearly Budget

Self-development is a very important part of equipping yourself to be successful in your professional and personal life. I’ll be sharing some tips and my own experience on my self-development journey.

Let's start with the definition of self-development: efforts toward self-fulfillment, either through formal study programs or on one's own (Source: Your Dictionary )

Early in my career, I learned the importance of self-development. It was key for me to prioritize and invest in honing my skills in different ways. For example, I learned by reading, taking classes and trying to do new things. I am a firm believer that self-development is a continuous process and I know how hard it can be to motivate yourself or keep yourself going on this journey of self-development.

To kick-off your successful self-development journey, let’s discuss four steps to get started with your self-development journey:

Step 1 : Create a self-development plan.
First things first: this is a flexible plan that can be revisited and revised – the important thing is to start somewhere.
My self-development plan typically has a list of capabilities I want to learn and a rough timeline for when I want to cover them. Some items on your list might take a few months to accomplish. I’ll encourage you to attempt to map out a year with three to five growth areas.
At the moment, improving my writing is at the top of my self-development plan. My timeline to complete my first formal training was the first quarter of 2018. I did my research and found the best way for me to improve my writing was to take a course where I learned basic principles and got an outsider's perspective on my blogs.

Step 2: Invest in your learning.
You will need to make an investment in your self-development journey. Investments might be money, your time, social life, etc. Sometimes you are lucky enough to find some free resources that help you learn what you want. However most of the time it'll take a little investment to learn something new.
Bonus: To ensure I have the financial resources, I always add a line to my monthly budget and save towards my learning budget. Some of you have learning budgets with your employer. Don't let it go to waste – use the resources available to you.

Step 3: Select one area and Start learning.
As with everything you need to take the first step. Your first step might be buying/renting a book for self-study or starting a new course. Start working towards your self-development goal. It is important to be consistent, dedicate time weekly, and adjust your plan as you go. After you complete the first development area move on to the next and then the next.

Step 4: Build a support network of "self-developers."
Research shows that we increase the probability of achieving goals when we are surrounded by like-minded people and share our experiences on our journey. It’s key to share experiences, encourage one another and serve as accountability partners. I strive to always share what i am currently learning with my trusted group and i also check on other's progress.

Final thoughts:

• You need to actively own and manage your self-development journey.
• Self-development is a continuous journey.
• Start investing in becoming a better you.

Great Resource:
Top 10 Ways to Invest in Yourself and Why It’s So Powerful
5 Reasons Why You Should Invest in Personal Development

Whatever you have been dreaming of – Take the first step

For over seven years I have been nesting my dream of building a platform where women like me shared experiences and learned from one another. I knew very early that the first step in building the platform was starting my website. You might be wondering why it took me seven years and how I finally did it.

In today’s blog we will concentrate on why it took me so long, how I overcame my blockades and what it takes to get started. Let’s discuss three steps to taking the first step towards your dream.

Step 1: Change your perspective- Tell yourself you can do it
It took me so long because let my limiting thoughts stop me. I let thoughts like “there are so many out there why should I join the crowd”, “I’m not a web designer/developer”, “I don’t know how to create content” limit me. I had to start by telling myself I can create a website that will be a great resource for women.

Step 2: Do your research, write down the tasks & start planning – What would it take?
A year ago not knowing where to start, I started doing my research to identify what it would take to create a site. It is important to outline what it will take for your dream to become reality. Break down what needs to be done into manageable tasks. Focus on doing the first activity and then the rest. For me I started with finding an easy to use website builder that will bridge my technological barrier, with that out of the way my dream was closer.

Step 3: Take the first step – Launch – Share with the world
Here the next challenge I had to overcome was striving for perfection. Perfection is the number one killer of dreams. I identified five “must-haves” for my first launch and got them out there. I am planning further rollouts of my site. First, I needed to get something out so I could iterate and grow.

I am so excited to announce that I did it – I launched my site on January 24, 2018. Come join me on my journey at mariechristinanthony.com

What have you been dreaming of and not dared to try. Join follow “Dream Activators” by sharing the first step you are committed to taking within the next month in the comments section below.

Final thoughts:
• A dream is not shared with the world will never be reality.
• You dream will die if you don’t take action
• Dreams become reality when we take the first step, get something out there.
• There is no such thing as perfection

Great Resource:
You Can Design Your Year- https://michaelhyatt.com/podcast-design-your-year/